Time. A gift our Heavenly Father gives each day. Seconds, minutes and hours that we sometimes take for granted. Time…a gift that is squandered or thoughtfully used and invested.
Time Contemplated
I pondered the subject of time this morning as I sat on the steps of my Mother’s home early this morn. In fact, our lives revolve around time. We buy daily planners and calendars with the hope of being able to schedule everything we have to do into the block of time we have been given. From morning till night our days fill with things that grasp this precious gift from our lives. We find ourselves caught in a race against time. A race that becomes increasingly easy to lose, the more we cram into our schedules. This happens when our meetings, appointments, the places we go and things we do become more important than our relationship with God.
It wasn’t too long ago, that my life was a rushing river of schedules, errands and a to do list a mile long. It just didn’t stop. No time to breathe. The river of time swirled by with a rushing that left me breathless at moments.
Life now has changed. I have scheduled times during these summer months when I come to care for my mother, who suffered a stroke seven long months ago. In this reality time slows. But not really. I still have the same amount of hours in my day as I did when my schedule was crammed with “do this and do that.” My days are ordered different now. Yes, there is still a certain hour for meals and meds. For cooking and care, yet there is a difference.
Days Enjoyed
Whereas before, there was seldom time to stop and just be, now moments of being are many. I sit on the steps, as Mom naps, and hear the birdsong. I watch the sassy squirrels, hear the rustling of the wind, and see the livestock in the next pasture contentedly munching the summer grass. All gifts of beauty for me to richly enjoy. I stop near the window to slowly point out the small fawn frolicking in the verdant field to the one who’s eyesight is dimming. We laugh as we meander down the hall with steps slow with age. We have no other place to be, consequently we enjoy the moment. Rambles through memory lane can be heard without that frantic inner thought of “I don’t have time to listen to this.”
All these are lessons of the “stopping” of time that I hope I’m learning well enough, for when I step back into a “busier” lifestyle. For time is the essential building blocks needed for a healthy relationship with our family and friends. I must stop and intentionally enter into the world of my loved ones. It is necessary to invest in my girls’ interests of bunny snuggling, dog training and kitten purring. Equally important, is listening as they coax another beautiful song from the strings of their violin. As well as heart-listening to the struggles of teenage life. These, and more are all gifts I can give. Similarly, sharing in the burdens of his day places another time-woven building block into the relationship with my husband. At each juncture in life we can choose to thoughtfully invest our time.
Hours Given
This gift of time is also to be given back to God, so that as we linger we can know Him better. For instance, the moments of our days we take to meditate on the character of God will instill in us a confidence that He will see us through the struggles of life. In the same way, we learn guiding principles that God wants to continually form in our lives as we read His Word. Likewise consistent conversation with our Heavenly Counselor will bring imparted guidance, grace and strength to our lives.
God knows what He is doing when he tells us to“Be still.” We must still our racing thoughts. We must stop our mental gymnastics and consciously rest our mind. Be still. Practice the stillness of body, mind and soul. Stop on purpose. Breathe in the quiet. Take notice of the gifts of beauty that surrounds us.
We must not only stop, but we must also step into His Presence. These moments of intentional stopping to interact with our God and meditate on who He is are paramount to our spiritual well-being. Life is not conducive to all of us stopping our jobs and responsibilities week after week and erasing our calendar full of appointments. Yet each one of us can start and stop our day with God. Just last week, I was talking with my husband and he mentioned how those intentional times spent with God both morning and evening were the anchor to his day, in spite of the irrational busyness of his life. Without those moments, something vital is missing in our relationship with God.
Time Evaluated
We are each personally held accountable for the time that God has gifted us. Is our life and the moments we spend bringing glory to God? Will we be able to fit into God’s new world when time ceases to be? Or have we let other things become more of a priority in our life? Are we taking moments of the time that God has given to just be in the Presence of the Giver?
When the clock of life ceases and we step into an eternal world without time, what will it be like? Will we be able to seamlessly step out of our time-ordered world because of the intentional and daily occasions we took to stop and still before our eternal and changeless Creator? Or will we still be scrambling to find time for God because of the jammed-packed schedules that we have kept?
This week, schedule a stop in your day planner. Breathe in the stillness. Watch a sunset. Spend moments with your dear ones. Visit your elderly parents. Pick up the phone and reconnect. Prioritize relationships by using the building blocks of time. Most importantly, make space to talk to your Creator. He longs to build a relationship with you that will continue on when time ceases to be.
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